


can i say something crazy?

by constellationsofsentences



Category: The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, F/F, F/M, Fluff, I Don't Understand Words, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Jace Wayland Is A Nerd, M/M, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-02-28 11:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13270392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/constellationsofsentences/pseuds/constellationsofsentences
Summary: Simon was struck out of his thoughts by the door opening. He looked up just in time to see a very attractive person step through the door. He had shockingly blond hair, and fuck, those tattoos! Simon opened his mouth to say something, like,Hi! Can I help you?or possiblyGood morning! How can I help?but found he could not. This boy was extremely intimidating. Also, Simon was still having a bit of a crisis about his tattoos. (God, those tattoos.)Instead, the boy spoke to him.“You got anything, for, like, a birthday?” he said, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but talking to Simon.Simon shrugged. “What are you looking for?”“Well, uh, my sister’s birthday is next week? I thought I should get her some flowers before her party.”Simon gestured around the shop. “You’re in luck. We happen to have a few of those.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> okay! here it is! this is the first fic ive written in almost a year and its unbeta-ed so please forgive me for it probably being terrible. this was also written in three hours while i listened to harry styles on repeat and just kinda word vomited so uh yeah enjoy i guess

It was turning out to be a less than exciting day. Which was normal, but still annoying, Simon thought with a sigh. At least Clary was working, too, which meant he was not missing out on anything important. And working at the flower shop was better than being a barista, or something. Nobody wanted flowers, like, ever, which meant that it was easy for him to get some schoolwork done. Or not.  

He stretched. It was easy to get bored when he was working here. It mostly involved sitting around, and waiting for Meliorn, the shop’s owner, to show up. For the first time, he found himself almost wishing for a customer. When he had applied, he’d been a little surprised that he’d been hired. Simon knew fuck all about flowers. But Meliorn had made sure he learnt a bit, enough to fool an innocent customer into thinking he was somewhat competent.

Right now, Meliorn was on a date. Simon supposed that was nice for him. It was, however, a date with the one and only Raphael, who Simon was ninety-nine percent sure hated him. This was entirely Clary’s fault. She had been hanging around the shop the first time Simon met him. She’d brought coffee, because she was the best. (She was often telling Simon of this fact. He tended to laugh along. It was probably true.) Maybe Clary had been trying to procure him a date, maybe she’d just wanted him to suffer deeply, but she had given him a shove in Raphael’s direction and– well, coffee ended up in a lot of places, none of which were in Simon’s cup. It was mostly all over Raphael’s expensive-looking shirt. Meliorn, hearing the commotion, came outside to chew Simon out, offer Raphael a spare shirt, ask Raphael out for coffee, and then chew Simon out a bit more.

The whole thing was incredibly ironic, because if Simon’s life was a rom-com, it would almost definitely be _him_ on a date with Raphael, not Meliorn. Not that he minded. Meliorn deserved a boyfriend, and Raphael seemed like the perfect person to be said boyfriend.

Simon was struck out of his thoughts by the door opening. He looked up just in time to see a _very_ attractive person step through the door. He had shockingly blond hair, and _fuck, those tattoos!_ Simon opened his mouth to say something, like, __Hi! Can I help you?_ _ or possibly _Good morning! How can I help?_ but found he could not. This boy was extremely intimidating. Also, Simon was still having a bit of a crisis about his tattoos. (God, those tattoos.)

Instead, the boy spoke to him.

“You got anything, for, like, a birthday?” he said, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but talking to Simon.

Simon shrugged. “What are you looking for?”

“Well, uh, my sister’s birthday is next week? I thought I should get her some flowers before her party.”

Simon gestured around the shop. “You’re in luck. We happen to have a few of those.”

“Wow, thanks,” the boy said, raising his eyebrows.

Simon shrugged, again. “No problem. What kind of flowers?”

“I… don’t know. Sorry,” said the other boy.

“Something… colorful, I’m guessing. Right?”

The blond looked a little lost. “I really have no idea, so sure.”

“Well, aren’t you so manly. What about these?”

“Those are nice.”

Simon turned to look at him. He shoved his hands in the pocket of his apron.

The boy looked back, and smiled slightly. His smile was slightly crooked. There was a mole just below his left eye, beneath his insanely long, pale eyelashes.

“Okay!” Simon said. “The flowers. Uh, how about these?”

He offered several selections– blue tulips and carnations, some daffodils and a small bouquet of primroses. Each were met with a shake of the head. Finally, the blond’s eyes fixed on a bouquet in the corner.

It was a deep red bouquet, mostly roses, peppered with green shoots. It was very striking, Simon supposed.

“These. These are what she’ll like.”

Simon shrugged. They were a very cool bouquet. A lot better than the daffodils which nobody really wanted.

He went over to the table to wrap the flowers’ stems. He got the plastic done as carefully as he could, and decided purple tissue paper would look weird, so went into the back to get some black paper. When he got back, the blond boy was running his fingers across a wind chime which hung from the ceiling. He looked oddly out of place, not only because his wardrobe seemed to consist entirely of leather, but also because he seemed to glow, like he was radiant. Magnificent. Simon felt like not only did he not belong in a shitty Brooklyn flower shop, but he also did not belong in this stupid mundane city.

Maybe he was being stupid. The boy wasn’t _that_ handsome.

When the flowers were wrapped and ready to go, Simon relinquished them sadly. He didn’t really want the boy to leave. He liked the boy, not only because he was beautiful, but because he sort of liked the company. Okay, he was definitely being stupid.

When he payed, the boy smiled.

“Do you want to, uh, go for a coffee sometime?” he asked. There was a tiny crease between his eyebrows, like he was worried Simon would say no.

“I don’t know. Somewhere.”

Simon felt suddenly embarrassed. “I–I don’t even know your _name_.”

“Oh. I’m Jace,” the boy said. He rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck, where a tattoo peeked out from beneath his jacket.

Jace. Of course he would have some dumbass name like that. “I’m Simon,” Simon offered.

“Yeah,” Jace said, and gestured to the name badge on Simon’s apron.

“Oh. Right. Of course.” Simon paused, and considered it.

Jace looked out the window. “Um, well, I guess I’ll see you around?”

Simon laughed. “Can I get your number, or something?”

Jace chuckled back. “Sure.”

As soon as his shift ended an hour later, Simon headed for the tattoo parlor across the street. He pushed the door open quickly. He was in a rush to see Clary.

Lightwood’s was one of the best tattoo parlors in Brooklyn, famous for its amazing artists. Clary had had both of her sleeves done at Lightwood’s before she started working there, and Simon could not deny that they were both works of art. It was dark inside, but a cozy kind of dark. A neon sign hung about the desk, bright red. It read _CREATE ART_ in all capitals. Beneath it, reading a magazine with her feet on the desk, was Maia. She looked up when Simon came in, and grinned at him. He and Clary had known Maia for years. It had been Maia who had managed to get Clary a job here, not that Simon was surprised. Her tattoo designs were honestly amazing.

“Hey,” she said. “Clary’s in the back.”

She jerked her head to the back room, where the artists hung around between customers. Simon headed in.

“Clary, you will not believe what just–”

Clary was sitting on a beaten-up couch against the wall, talking to a blond person who had their back to him. She looked up, a little startled, when he came in, and smiled. “Simon! Hey!”

The person she’d been talking to turned around, and Simon frowned. He had very blond hair, almost golden, with a mole just below his eye. He smiled a crooked smile at Simon, who grinned.

“What are _you_ doing here?”

Clary grinned, hair wild as usual. “Simon, this is Jace. I actually wanted to introduce you–”

“We’ve already met,” Simon said. He then said, quieter, “that’s _kinda_ what I came to tell you about?”

Clary raised her eyebrows at Jace, but laughed. “Okay, then. What did you get up to?”

“I bought some flowers?” Jace offered, cheeks red.

“Ookay,” Clary said, still laughing slightly. “Well, anyway, it’s time for me to head home. Simon, you coming?”

“In a minute. You go… get your jacket, or something.”

She beamed mischievously at him, and left to bother Maia for a moment. “Don’t be too long! We have a Star Wars marathon to get on with!”

Jace laughed. His laugh was smooth and calm.

“Um, so…” Simon began, “you work here too?”

“Yeah, I do. I, uh, own the place?”

“Really?”

Jace smiled fondly. “Yeah. I had a bit of money saved up, and I’ve always known I wanted to, uh, tattoo people. And so I bought the place. And I fixed it up. And then, you know, uh, this happened.”

“Woah,” Simon said. “That’s… so cool.”

“I guess,” Jace said, blushing again. Simon grinned. “What about you?”

“I… well, you know I work in the flower shop. And, uh, I’m in a band. But mostly just… college. I want to write, when I graduate.”

“Songs? Or books?”

“Books, probably. I write songs, too, but they’re usually so… personal. I don’t know.” Simon shrugged, again.

Jace grinned. “That’s cool, anyway. I always wanted to be in a band. Guess I just wasn’t cool enough.”

Simon raised his eyebrows. “Sure,” he said, drawing out the U.

“No, I’m serious! Izzy’s the cool one–that’s my sister. I was always… awkward.”

Simon was about to reply, but Clary poked her head around the door.

“Hate to interrupt the blooming romance,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows, “but Simon, Mom and Luke are expecting us for dinner.”

“Oh, cool. Totally! Uh, bye, Jace,” Simon said.           

Jace smiled slightly. “I’ll text you, or something?”

Simon beamed. “I’d love that.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here it is!!!! idk when the next chapter will be out because of school and stuff so uh... enjoy i guess??

Jace hurried home after Simon left. He felt a little like a character from a musical, like he was about to burst into a well-choreographed song and dance routine. Maia walked with him a couple of blocks, rolling her eyes at his stupid grin. He shrugged, looking down at Izzy’s flowers. 

Maia bid him goodbye when they got to her street. “See ya, lover boy.”

He scoffed, a little. “Like you and Lydia are any better.”

“That is none of your business,” she said, but she was smiling. He shrugged, and turned on his heel.

“Bye,” she called, behind him. He said the same, and continued on his stupidly merry way.

 

When he got back to his apartment, he kicked off his shoes and sank backwards onto the couch, resting the flowers on his chest. 

“Are those for me?” asked a voice. It was Izzy, curled in the corner of the couch with a mug of coffee. Jace grinned at her. 

“Yeah,” he said. “Happy birthday! Or–well, its not your birthday yet, but, uh…”

“Whatever,” Izzy laughed, setting her mug aside. “These are some nice flowers. Where’d you get them?”

“Uh,that place across from work. Meliorn’s Flower Stop?”

She grinned. “Cool.”

There was a pause, while Izzy hunted for something to put the flowers in, and Jace lay back down on the couch and checked his phone. There were two message from Simon:

 

**Simon Lewis | 14:23**

Hey! This is Simon

 

**Simon Lewis | 15:04**

this is Jace right???

 

He smiled slightly, and sent one back. 

 

**Jace Lightwood | 16:59**

yeah, this is jace

 

The grey dots showed up almost immediately. Jace smiled a little wider.

“What’s got you looking like that?” Izzy teased, sitting down next to him.

“Like what?”

“Like you’ve got the sun coming out of your asshole, Jace? Come on, what’s up?”

Jace shifted so he was standing up, and spluttered a little.

“Clary said you met her friend Simon for the first time,” Izzy said, grinning.

Jace groaned. He did not know why Clary and Izzy were in cahoots against him, but he suspected it was something to do with the makeout session he had accidentally walked in on the last time Izzy came to visit him at work. “God, Clary. Can’t I have some sort of secret, like, ever? Yeah, I did.”

“Is he cute?” Izzy asked, eyebrows wiggling. 

Jace flopped backwards again, and groaned. “Ugh,” he said. “You’re nosy. Where’s Alec? He’s the nicer sibling.”

Izzy grinned, all teeth. “He’s with Magnus.”

His phone, which was lying beside him, buzzed again, twice. It was Simon. 

 

**Simon Lewis | 17:04**

This is awkward, but like, do u want 2 go for a movie or something sometime?

 

**Simon Lewis | 17:05**

It’s cool if u don’t!!! 

 

Jace stood up to get his laptop, texting as he walked.

 

**Jace Lightwood | 17:08**

sure

 

**Jace Lightwood | 17:08**

when were you thinking? 

 

**Simon Lewis | 17:09**

Next Saturday?? 

 

**Simon Lewis | 17:11**

My shift ends at 5, but after that?

 

**Jace Lightwood | 17:15**

maybe 6? is that ok?

 

**Simon Lewis | 17:20**

Sure!!!

 

 

The next day, at work, Clary looked remarkably pleased with herself. She was speaking to Maia about something when Jace came in from the back room, and both of them laughed when he asked what the matter was. He raised both eyebrows at them.

“Clary, we have a customer at 2, and they requested you. That’s in…10 minutes, so, uh, go get ready,” he said, smiling faintly. 

She nodded, grinning widely. Jace sat on one of the waiting chairs and looked round the room. The walls were covered in designs, from top to bottom. They weren’t just his–he saw Clary’s swirling roses and symbols that were quite similar to the first tattoo she’d ever had. He’d done it, three years ago. It was her design, though. 

It was so amazing, when Maia brought up the idea of offering her a job, he hadn’t had many objections. Clary was insanely talented.

 

Jace’s own first tattoo was his smallest. He’d gone to get it with Isabelle and Alec when Maryse thought they were seeing a movie. They had all had it done on their wrists, a tiny initial. It was his simplest tattoo, but also his favorite. 

 

Clary’s customer arrived, and Jace was startled out of his thoughts as he stood up and remembered he was supposed to be working. 

 

When Clary was done, and it was time for her to head home, she shrugged on her jacket and sighed. 

“Wait,” asked Jace, “are you going to get Simon?” 

Clary looked at him, beaming. “Nah, he works later than usual on a Friday. Until, like, 6.30,” she said, “in case you wanted to go keep him company.”

This information was definitely not related to the fact that Jace decided to stay at work for an extra hour and a half. He sat in the back room, trying to do accounts and finding his mind was wandering. 

Eventually he gave up, and headed across the street to the flower shop.

Simon looked up from his book when Jace came in, and smiled softly.

“Hey,” he said, quietly. “Need some flowers?”

“Not right now,” Jace replied.

Simon looked at him, quizzical. 

“I just, uh,” he began, rubbing the back of his neck, “wanted to keep you company. Clary said you work late, and I figured…”

Simon’s face broke out into and enthusiastic grin. He laughed. “Well, I’m just finishing up here. D’you wanna, uh, go do something?”

Jace smiled. His insides felt warm and sticky, like honey. “Sure.”

“We could go to my place?” Simon offered, and then his eyes widened. “I mean… not like that. Unless you wanted it to be. Unless–well, Clary will be there, probably. I don't know?”

Jace stared at him for a second, before bursting out laughing. Simon chuckled awkwardly, but soon followed suit. 

The warmness inside Jace grew. 

“Hey,” he said. “We could grab dinner, or something?”

Simon smiled. “I could really go for a burger.”

“Then it’s settled. Let’s go eat our bodyweight in McDonald’s.”

“Sweet,” said Simon, and it was settled.

 

Soon, they were sitting opposite each other over a slightly greasy table. It was not what Jace would have considered the most romantic of dates. (Was this even a date?) (He wanted it to be a date.) 

Simon was telling him about his and Clary’s midnight grocery shopping the night before, and Jace did not let him know that Clary had already told him this story. Simon’s eyes shone as he talked. They way he spoke with such excitement made Jace’s insides melt, just a little. (He was _so_ far gone.) 

“And, yeah, then Clary just fucking _leapfrogged_ over the cart!” Simon finished, laughing at his own story. 

“ _How?_ ” 

“I don’t… She’s like this tiny superhero? Like, if she came up to me just now, and was all, ‘Simon, I have superpowers’, I’d be… not surprised?” Simon said. His words tended to run into each other. Jace grinned. Simon beamed back. It made Jace’s stomach backflip. 

“Me neither,” he agreed. It was true.

They were silent, for a moment, as Simon finished his fries. Jace looked down at his burger. It was almost finished. In the booth next to theirs, two kids were gleefully attacking each other’s Captain America figurines. 

Simon took a long drink, before setting it down carefully and looking carefully at Jace. Jace met his eyes, watching Simon consider him.

“Is this a date?” Simon asked, after a moment.

Jace started. “Fuck, I hope so,” he said. 

“Good,” Simon said. 

Jace grinned at him, eyes shining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, the [tumblr](http://excelsior.co.vu) !!


	3. Chapter 3

“Yo,” Clary said, peering around the door to Simon’s room. She threw a towel at his head and laughed at his muffled groan. “Get up, Si. Izzy’s party is in,” she checked her watch, “two hours, and you’ve got to be ready to impress Jace. And- quick reminder- he is my boss, and can fire me, so, like, don’t fuck up.”

Simon groaned again. It was so early. 

“Also, Alec’ll be there, and he’s, like, super intimidating, so…”

It was really only the thought of Jace that made Simon get up, however slowly. He had a text from Raphael: don’t drink too much - work tomorrow. see you there. Simon chuckled to himself as he set his music blaring. 

In the other room, Clary laughed. A tinny laugh echoed back, so Simon assumed she was facetiming Izzy. He hurried to the shower, towel in hand. He tried to ignore the nerves that built whenever he thought of Alec. Clary was right, Alec was super intimidating, and Simon had only ever seen him in pictures. The thought of meeting him in person was terrifying to Simon, considering he was both Jace’s best friend, and idol (even though Jace wouldn’t admit it). Making a good impression was important. 

He showered quickly, choosing a button down which, to Simon’s calculations, was formal enough to make a good impression without making him seem completely out of place at a surprise party for his best friend’s girlfriend. When he was finally satisfied, he emerged from his room to find Clary still on the phone with Izzy, doing her makeup.

Izzy grinned at him through the screen. “Simon! Hey,” she said, before turning back to Clary. “Listen, babe, I’ll call you later. Alec and Jace are taking me to brunch or something, I don’t know. But we’re on for dinner tomorrow?”

“Sure,” Clary grinned. “See you then. Bye!”

Once she had hung up, Clary turned on Simon. “You look nice,” she said approvingly, before brandishing two shirts at him. “So, sleeveless or with sleeves?”

“Sleeveless,” Simon said. “Very sexy. Plus, it shows off your arms.” He gestured to the flowers trailing up and down both of Clary’s arms. “That’s always a lady-charmer.”

Clary laughed. “Shut up,” she said, and went to put the shirt on.

 

As they walked to Alec’s boyfriend’s apartment, side by side, Simon felt his nerves building. It was stupid, he knew, to be so terrified of meeting his boyfriend’s brother (were they boyfriends? Simon wasn’t sure). He could only imagine how much of a mess he would be before meeting Jace’s parents. And Izzy was nice, so Alec couldn’t be horrible. Yet he still couldn’t shake the butterflies building in his stomach. 

They rang the doorbell, and a man with the best makeup Simon had ever seen answered the door. He smiled broadly.

“Clary, I presume. A pleasure. I’m Magnus Bane,” he said. He continued, laughing a little, “So then you must be Simon. Jace’s beau.”

“We’re not technically dating. But, uh, yeah, I’m Simon,” Simon offered gingerly. He definitely like the idea of being Jace’s beau. 

“Marvellous. Well, do come in, and all that,” Magnus said. “It’s rather crowded, but I’m sure there’s room.”

If there was one thing Simon had not realised, it was the sheer number of friends Izzy had. The room was packed full of people, talking and laughing quietly. Clary grinned at Maia, who came over to talk, grinning widely, dragging a girl behind her.

“Hey, guys,” Maia said. “Uh, this is awkward, but I don’t think you’ve met Lydia? My girlfriend?”

The girl raised her hand stiffly. Her hair was tied back in careful braids, and she stood rigid, back straight.

“Uh, hey,” Simon said, “I’m Simon. Maia’s best friend.”

“Excuse me?” added Clary. “I’m Maia’s best friend. Clary. It’s so nice to meet you. Maia’s been gushing about you for ages.”

Simon turned to Clary. “No. I am Maia’s number one confidant. After Luke, of course.”

“I’ll have you know–” Clary began, but their friendly bickering was stopped as Magnus swept into the room.

“They’re on their way,” he exclaimed, “so I’m going to turn out the lights. Just thought I’d warn you.”

People began to whisper and the room was plunged into semi-darkness. There was no room for everyone to hide, so Magnus had instead just gone for turning the lights out. 

There was a crash as someone knocked over a glass.

“Shit. Sorry, Magnus,” came a voice.

“I should expect so, Raphael. Oh well. It’s nothing.”

Simon almost laughed. He’d never seen (well, heard) Raphael do anything clumsy. At work, it was normally Simon knocking over flowerpots and crates as Raphael looked on, smirking a little.

(Simon wasn’t really sure why Raphael was at Izzy’s party. Izzy seemed to know everybody, though.)

The sound of a door opening brought Simon out of his thoughts. Izzy’s voice floated down the hall.

“Really, Alec, thank you. It’s fine,” she said.

The reply was too quiet for Simon to hear, but he did hear Jace and Izzy laugh at whatever Alec had said. 

Then the three of them walked into the room. The lights flooded on.

“Happy birthday!” they all cried. Izzy laughed.

“Oh, wow, thank you guys so much.” She turned on her brothers. “Thank you, boys.”

Jace waved it away. “It was mostly Magnus,” he said, grinning. Simon wanted to kiss his stupid dimples so bad.

Izzy threw a hug at Magnus. “You’re the best.”

Clary made a show of fake coughing. 

“Clary!” Izzy exclaimed. “You helped, too, right?”

“I’ve gotta be honest, I wasn’t really allowed. But I helped with decorations.”

“Aw,” Izzy said, “they’re lovely.”

Then there was a bit of kissing. Simon averted his eyes. He felt weird about watching them kiss, even if Clary was his best friend.

Jace appeared by his side. 

“I knew your tough-guy facade was a facade!” Simon joked.

“Huh,” said Jace. “No way. It’s not like, I don’t know, I shared all my secrets with you in McDonalds on a Friday night.”

“No,” Simon said, solemnly. “That would be weird.”

They both burst out laughing.

"Jace," said someone, "I need your help."

It was Alec, waving a bottle of champagne around. 

“Oh, hey Alec. This is Simon,” Jace said, taking the bottle. He popped the cork effortlessly. “This stuff is nice. Where’d you get it?”

“Mom. It was a housewarming gift from when we moved in,” Alec said. “Hey, Simon. How’d you meet my dumbass brother?”

“Clary,” Simon offered. “Sort of.”

“Well, let me warn you, Jace might be pulling this whole badass tattoo artist thing, but he’s really just an art nerd.”

“Ha. I knew it was an act!” Simon exclaimed, grinning at Jace, who shrugged. 

“You’re the nerd,” Jace said.

“Hmm. Well, see, I don’t know about that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait i forgot how to write sentences. anyway hope u enjoyed and thanks to those of u who left comments on the last 2 chapters xoxo

**Author's Note:**

> uh come find me on [tumblr](http://excelsior.co.vu) to yell about your favourite aus with me!!


End file.
